Morecambe Crawl Back Into Game

Morecambe travelled to Crawley on Saturday looking to end a run of defeats which has seen the team pick-up only one League Two point from the last possible twenty-seven. The game was poor at times and there were few chances but Alex Kenyon had a header cleared off the line by Jon Walton after nine minutes. The teams went in level and goal-less after a half which gradually detiorated in quality. Morecambe had another chance to take the lead during injury time, however, when old adversary Paul Jones in the Town goal did well to stop a fierce 20 yard shot from Shaun Miller. The home side upped the ante at the start of the second half and on 57 minutes, just after Miller had lost possession for the Shrimps at the other end of the field, Lyle Della-verde`s shot was blocked only to fall to Matt Harrold. Crawley`s number eighteen slotted a right-footed shot past Barry Roche into the bottom corner to put the Red Devils ahead.

Falling behind by a single goal and then losing is a pattern which Shrimps fans have seen repeated time and time again in recent times. Manager Jim Bentley keeps insisting that his team doesn`t play badly and rarely loses by more than one goal. He also claims that his team rarely get the rub of the green. Today, however, the Manager showed a lot more ambition than he did last Saturday against Carlisle when he made two negative and defensive substitutions near the end of the game. Today, however, he sent on two forwards – Paul Mullin and Tom Barkhuizen – near the end and they helped to turn the game Morecambe`s way. They got what their play merited – an equaliser and a very welcome point at long last in the eighty-third minute. Miller – in his first game back after suspension – turned a half-chance into a goal against a club where he has been on loan in the past. Chris Doyle got his head to a corner from the right and Miller slammed the ball past Jones with his right foot.

And that was it. The relief in Big Jim`s voice after the game was palpable. The draw keeps the Shrimps in eighteenth position. Mark Yates` team ended-up two places higher, five points better-off and with a game in hand.Ref: Iain Williamson